Heat and drought are punishing much of the United States right now, but there’s actually some good weather news to report. July 2012 is on track to produce fewer tornadoes than any July on record, and by a long shot.

Cooler and drier air injected into a hurricane can put the brakes on its growth. Scientists are learning more about how this process works and how forecasters can watch for it.

A thunderstorm complex that toppled trees and knocked out power from Illinois to the Delaware coast brought to light a weather term with an obscure but intriguing history.

A small, sophisticated instrument package developed at NCAR and dropped from aircraft has led to notable improvements in hurricane prediction. Now these devices are poised to deliver more data than ever, thanks to a new design and a remotely piloted NASA aircraft.

A multisatellite observing system that was only a gleam in researchers’ eyes in the 1990s is now a key tool for monitoring Earth’s atmosphere. An ambitious follow-up project could yield up to ten times the data gathered by the current satellites.